Here is the definitive resource on the fine art of making shirts. Author David Page Coffin shows how to create elegant, custom-fit garments for a woman or a man that have a great tailored look and fit perfectly. And, even more important, once you learn to make and fit a shirt -- whether you have sewn for weeks or years -- your sewing skills will be dramatically improved.

David shares the construction secrets of garments from the world's finest shirtmakers. Discover how to duplicate and even improve on these garments, using simple tools and techniques any sewer can acquire. Includes 15 pages of fill-sized patterns for collars, plackets, cuffs, and pockets.

In the companion video, Shirtmaking Techniques, Coffin demonstrates the techniques that are the hallmarks of fine shirtmaking and shows how to master rolled hems, flat-felled seams, collars, cuffs, and plackets.

"This book is great -- fresh, focused information on shirtmaking. David Coffin's approach is straightforward and logical...no sooner do you pose a question than he answers it."

-- Sandra Betzina, syndicated sewing columnist, author of Power Sewing and More Power Sewing, and host of HGTV's Sew Perfect

Contents

Introduction

Part one: Shirts Examined


Chapter one: The Materials of Fine Shirts

Chapter two: The Shirtmaker's Tools

Chapter three: The Classic Shirt

Part two: Patternmaking


Chapter four: Making Shirts Fit

Chapter five: Developing a Basic Pattern

Chapter six: Collars, Plackets, Cuffs and Pockets

Part three: Shirt Construction


Chapter seven: A Workshop in Precision Sewing Techniques

Chapter eight: Sewing It All Together

Chapter nine: Variations on a Classic Theme

Addendum: Monogramming Shirts

Sources of Supply

Bibliography

Index